Positioning and guiding mechanisms for appendages and vehicle platform
AssigneeHasbro, Inc.
InventorsJames Edward Brown, Jr., Spencer A Roberts, Melissa Hershey
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A vehicle platform with positioning and guiding mechanisms and having a single wheel. A frame extends from the vehicle with a receptacle connected to the frame, and a motor drives the vehicle forward and rearward. A head appendage is mounted to the receptacle to yaw left and right, pitch up and down, and roll from side to side to guide the vehicle. Another motor provides for positioning the appendage to roll, with an additional motor for positioning the head to pitch and yaw. A pair of left and right rims is disposed adjacent to the wheel for limiting lean of the vehicle platform, and a control system is incorporated.
Claims20
A vehicle platform with positioning and guiding mechanisms, comprising:
- a vehicle having a single wheel, the wheel including left and right rims of a smaller diameter than the diameter of the wheel;
- a frame extending from the wheel;
- a receptacle mounted to the frame;
- a movable appendage mounted to the receptacle;
- first, second, and third motors connected to the vehicle for driving the wheel forward and rearward, and for rolling, pitching and yawing the appendage;
- and
- a control system for controlling the first, second and third motors.
A vehicle platform with positioning and guiding mechanisms, comprising:
- a single wheel vehicle including left and right rims having smaller diameters than the diameter of the wheel for limiting lean of the wheel;
- a first motor connected to the vehicle for driving the wheel forward and rearward;
- a frame extending from the vehicle;
- a receptacle connected to the frame;
- a head unit mounted to the receptacle to yaw left and right, to pitch up and down, and to roll from side to side to guide the vehicle;
- a second motor connected to the vehicle for positioning the head unit to roll;
- a third motor connected to the vehicle for positioning the head unit to pitch and yaw;
- and
- a control system for controlling the first, second and third motors, wherein the control system is located in the single wheel of the vehicle and comprises a multi-axis inertial measurement unit and proportional integral derivation control loop to maintain the head unit and move the vehicle forward, with an angle of the head unit being shifted forward of a vertical reference, and the second motor for positioning the head unit to roll for steering and lateral stability.
A method for assembling a toy vehicle platform having positioning and guiding mechanisms, comprising the steps of:
- providing a single wheel vehicle;
- mounting a first motor to the vehicle for driving the wheel forward and rearward;
- mounting a frame extending from the wheel;
- connecting a receptacle to the frame;
- mounting an appendage to the receptacle to yaw left and right, pitch up and down, and roll from side to side to guide the vehicle;
- mounting a second motor to the vehicle to cause the appendage to roll for steering and lateral stability;
- mounting a third motor to the vehicle for positioning the appendage to pitch and yaw;
- and
- mounting a control system to the vehicle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.